Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

“No, what I mean is…” Misato Katsuragi paused for a moment, “Where did these people come from? How do they live here? How do they make a living?”

Ritsuko Akagi was silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, "Refugees."

"what?"

“Refugees after the Second Shock.” Ritsuko Akagi’s tone became somewhat complicated. “Do you think everyone is like us, able to live a peaceful life under NERV’s protection? The shock destroyed most of the coastal cities, and half of the inland areas were also affected. The government’s relief food was simply not enough to go around, and the shelters were already overflowing. Those who had neither connections nor resources could only… find a way to survive on their own.”

Ritsuko Akagi didn't say what was on her mind next. Their friend, Ryoji Kaji, had actually been one of these 'refugees' as well.

Misato Katsuragi opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

She knew all this. As NERV's Chief of Operations, she certainly knew about the global situation following the Second Impact. But knowing and seeing are two different things.

Those data, those reports, those cold figures of "estimated affected population" and "estimated mortality rate" have now transformed into these hunched figures, these tattered clothes, and these hands struggling to make a living on the barren land.

“They look…so pitiful,” Misato Katsuragi said softly.

Ritsuko Akagi glanced at her but didn't reply.

Misato Katsuragi's tone did contain pity, but that pity was too distant, too detached, like standing in front of a zoo window looking at an animal in a cage—I sympathize with you, I feel sorry for you, but I am ultimately different from you, I am ultimately on the other side of the glass.

After all, it seems like Misato Katsuragi's fate was so tragic, but her father was the doctor who led the Adam research, and it was he who 'sacrificed' himself to destroy Adam with the N2 bomb. Even if it's just to inherit this lineage, NERV will continue to support her.

Some people are born to be the Celestial Dragons of the city, but ironically, in the repeated shocks of the new theatrical version world, those who are far from the disaster are the first to die. Meanwhile, those who have registered residence in Tokyo-3, because they are close to the eye of the storm, are the only ones who can survive for more than ten years.

“Let’s go down and take a look,” Ritsuko Akagi said.

The two walked down the hillside, gradually approaching the field. The working people noticed them, stopped what they were doing, and scrutinized the two neatly dressed women with wary and distant eyes.

362

An outsider with an extraordinary presence.

No one spoke, no one came forward to greet them; the old and the young alike looked at these 'city people' with distance and fear.

"Excuse me..." Misato Katsuragi tried to force a smile, "Is Shinji Ikari here?"

There was still no answer. Those people just stared at her, their eyes filled with wariness, scrutiny, and an inexplicable...hostility?

Misato Katsuragi stood there somewhat awkwardly when, just then, a gentle voice came from the other end of the field.

"Miss Misato? Miss Ritsuko?"

The two looked in the direction of the sound, and then froze at the same time.

At the edge of the field, a boy in a black priest's robe stood up from the furrow. His robe was covered in mud, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing mud-splattered forearms. He held a simple hoe in his hands—he had just been hoeing the ground.

It is Shinji Ikari, but not the Shinji Ikari they remember.

Shinji Ikari at the NERV base, dressed in a neat priest's robe and wearing reflective glasses, always spoke with a distant and mysterious tone, like a saint who had stepped out of a religious painting.

The Shinji Ikari standing before them had mud on his robes, sweat on his face, and his glasses were pinned to his chest. His eyes were clear and gentle, and he was looking at them with a faint smile.

"Why are you here?" He leaned his hoe aside, patted the dirt off his hands, and walked towards them.

As he moved, the previously wary townspeople parted to make way, like a tide parting to reveal a straight path in the middle. Some bent down to pick up his dropped tools, some offered him a clean cloth to wipe his hands, and some whispered, "Father, would you like some water?" Their actions were natural and their attitude respectful, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

Shinji Ikari took the water, took a sip, and then nodded to the others: "Go on, don't worry about me."

Those people then stopped looking at him and returned to their own work, continuing to turn the soil, sow seeds, and water. But Misato Katsuragi could sense that their peripheral vision was constantly watching this side, maintaining a vigilant alertness as if they might rush over at any moment.

“It’s quite lively here…” Misato Katsuragi looked around, struggling to find the right words.

"It's alright." Shinji Ikari handed the water pouch back to the person next to him and looked at them. "Did you come to see me for something?"

Ritsuko Akagi's gaze swept between the field and the distant settlement: "These people... you took them in?"

“Yes, compared to the people in that city, they are far more innocent.” Shinji Ikari made the sign of the cross on his chest and said calmly.

“My Lord said that the sins of others should not fall upon these innocent people.”

------

P.S.: Some people say that the plot involving Asmodeus and the random female band is a red flag, but I think I only mentioned it briefly. I didn't originally plan to write about these random female band members; they're barely a hundred words long and are just minor, nameless characters... But since it's considered a red flag, I'll revise it and be more careful in the future.

The path to godhood requires constant killing! :254. Facing the Day Angel, the White Giant

Shinji led them into the town, pointing to the people and recounting their origins as if they were his own family.

“After the Second Impact, many people lost their homes, their loved ones, and their hope of survival.” Shinji’s tone was calm. “They wandered everywhere, encountering setbacks everywhere. Most of them died on the road, and those who survived continued to wander.”

He pointed to several young men in the distance who were repairing a roof.

“Those people came from Fukushima Prefecture, and it took them three months to walk here. Their homes were destroyed in the second wave of the tsunami, and the families chose to wander together and help each other. But their parents died a few years ago, leaving only them. Adults couldn’t get into government shelters, so they were kicked out and eventually I brought them here.”

His finger then moved to the old man who was watering the plants.

"That old gentleman used to be a university professor who studied ancient religions. After the riots, his wife and daughter died, and he lived alone in the ruins, scavenging for garbage and wandering for more than ten years. Last winter, he almost froze to death, but the people here found him and carried him back."

He finally pointed to the children.

"Most of these children's parents are gone. Some died in the shock, some died in the days that followed. Some begged on the streets, some were sold by human traffickers, some almost... well, never mind."

Misato Katsuragi fell silent. She looked at the people—the hunched old men, the thin young men, the dirty children—their eyes held weariness and vicissitudes, but when they looked at Shinji Ikari, their eyes changed.

It was a gaze she had never seen before.

It wasn't gratitude, nor dependence, but something deeper and more profound. It was like someone who had walked in darkness for too long finally seeing the light, like a drowning person finally grabbing onto a piece of driftwood, like looking up at something greater than oneself.

They were willing to die for Shinji Ikari!

Shinji turned around, looked at the field, and said softly:

“At first there were only a few people, but the number gradually increased. Those who needed food farmed together; those who needed shelter built houses together; those who needed protection stood guard together. No one ordered them or organized them; they learned on their own.”

“Like… a village?” Misato Katsuragi said.

“Like a family,” Shinji Ikari corrected her.

A breeze blew by, and the seedlings in the field swayed gently. In the distance, the laughter of children drifted up, mingled with the barking of a few dogs. Smoke continued to rise from the chimneys; someone was beginning to prepare lunch.

Misato Katsuragi suddenly felt that this place was more like a home than her NERV dormitory, and it was a large family built by the minors in her eyes.

This made Misato Katsuragi, who thought the other person was a minor and wanted to invite him to live in her dormitory and take care of him in order to get closer to him, feel ashamed and embarrassed.

"Shinji-kun... he is truly an extraordinary person."

Shinji Ikari looked at her; her eyes, now free of her glasses, were surprisingly clear, as if they could see through all pretense and politeness.

"Does Miss Misato think I'm something special?" he asked rhetorically.

"Of course, you..."

“But I don’t think it’s enough.” He interrupted her, his gaze sweeping over the fields, the people working there, and the dilapidated church.

“There are only a few hundred people here. But throughout Japan, throughout Asia, throughout the world, there are tens of millions, hundreds of millions of people like them. They are homeless, toiling away, struggling to live in this world that has been ruined by the sins of others.”

He withdrew his gaze and looked back at Misato Katsuragi: "NERV has mobilized enough resources to support ten or even a hundred times more people. But where have those resources been used?"

"It's used to protect something more important." Ritsuko Akagi, standing beside her friend who had been suppressed, calmly continued.

"The maintenance costs of EVA, the upgrade costs of MAGI, the salaries of researchers, the equipment of the combat department... each of these is astronomical. These can indeed be exchanged for resources to support more people, but only by maintaining sufficient strength can we protect the world from being destroyed again."

"Whose world? Yours?" Shinji took out his non-prescription glasses from his pocket, put them on, pushed them up, and his voice became cold and sarcastic again.

Dongjiang's thinking has come online.

"Your world has never included these abandoned people, the citizens of the city, or even your own NERV members."

"You are merely protecting what you have heavily guarded beneath your sinful Tower of Babel. You yourselves have instigated the beginning of this disaster, and everything you are doing now is nothing more than a belated attempt to mend the fence after the sheep have escaped, which is not even a form of atonement."

What else did they want to say, a true expression imbued with the essence of Dongjiang?

363

Si interrupted them directly

"No need to say anything." Shinji turned and walked back towards the field. "You've come looking for me, it's definitely not for anything good. So, what do you want?"

Ritsuko Akagi coughed, resuming her businesslike tone: "The Fourth Angel is expected to arrive in Tokyo-3 within the next three days. We need you to go into battle."

"Oh." Shinji didn't even turn his head. "The usual."

"This time I will demand more money and supplies, and most importantly, I want global broadcasting rights. I want to declare my doctrines to the world."

“You…!” Ritsuko Akagi choked, clearly speechless at this absurd request.

Misato Katsuragi quickly smoothed things over: "Shinji-kun, we know you have issues with NERV, but haven't the supplies already been delivered? They'll be delivered as usual this time, don't worry. As for the global broadcasting rights, that's not something NERV can decide..."

"Then let's go talk!" Shinji bent down to tie his loose shoelaces, chuckling without turning his head.

"What a ridiculous world! Humanity's destruction is imminent, yet they're still scheming against each other and even limiting funding for saving humanity. With such hopeless incompetence, it's no wonder that humanity in this world is wiped out!"

After saying that, he turned around, picked up his hoe, and continued working.

The wind blew across the fields, ruffling the hem of his priest's robe. He stood there, his back to the two women from NERV, facing the people working in the land.

Then, he walked back to the furrow, bent down to pick up the hoe, and continued turning the soil.

It seemed to him that this was far more important than saving the world and facing the apostles.

"Let's go." Ritsuko Akagi sighed and tugged at Misato Katsuragi's sleeve. "We should go back."

Misato Katsuragi nodded, followed her as she turned and left. After a few steps, she couldn't help but look back.

Shinji Ikari was still hoeing the ground. The others were still doing their own work. No one looked after them, no one saw them off, as if they had never been there at all.

……

Shinji, do you want to go to school?

"Lord Tsugumi, is there any point in me continuing my studies?"

"It's not necessary, but you will meet a lot of friends."

Are those friends necessary?

"No, they don't mean anything."

"Then I don't need it."

Glug glug glug～～～～

Bubbles made a sound as air was expelled from the lungs, and before my eyes was the dim green glow of light shining through the solution in the water.

"We...cannot...cut...off...the body..."

"He is... an existence... beyond the Dead Sea... of light... a being..."